Captured Travel Tasmania is embracing the cold in delicious style this winter, with more than 25 immersive culinary experiences transforming the island into Australia’s ultimate cool-season escape. From firelit feasts and truffle hunts to dark-sky seafood cruises and whisky tastings by the ocean, the state’s 2026 Off Season is proving winter travel has never tasted so good.
Running from May to August, Tourism Tasmania’s annual Off Season campaign encourages travellers to lean into the island’s wild winter atmosphere rather than escape it. Across the state, visitors can sip mulled cider beside crackling firepits, forage for mushrooms in damp forests, follow truffle dogs through frosty orchards and feast on freshly shucked oysters overlooking icy waterways.
Fire, flavour and festival vibes
Leading the charge is Dark Mofo’s iconic Winter Feast, returning to Hobart’s waterfront across selected dates from 11–21 June 2026. Widely regarded as Australia’s biggest winter food festival, the sprawling event combines live music, roaring fires and more than 75 food and drink stalls serving flame-grilled seafood, slow-cooked meats, decadent desserts and warming spirits late into the night.
Elsewhere, winter rituals continue with intimate long-table feasts and atmospheric dining experiences across the island. In the Tamar Valley, Noir Noir pairs pinot noir, whisky and stargazing beneath Tasmania’s famously dark skies, while Callington Mill Distillery in Oatlands hosts immersive whisky evenings complete with firelit cocktails and cask-charring ceremonies.
For pure comfort food, The Agrarian Kitchen in New Norfolk is serving indulgent truffle toasties and toasted s’mores beside outdoor firepits, while Rathmore’s heritage-listed woolshed offers slow-cooked lamb feasts with Highland charm in Tasmania’s Central Highlands.
Truffles, seafood and wild adventures
Tasmania’s winter produce also takes centre stage throughout the Off Season. At Hobart restaurant Fico, black truffle stars in a luxurious five-course degustation, while The Truffle Farm in Deloraine invites guests to join trained truffle dogs on frosty hunts before warming up with truffle-infused treats by the fire.
Seafood experiences are equally enticing. Travellers can board Tasmanian Wild Seafood Adventures’ ‘Sea to Sky’ cruise for stargazing paired with oysters, abalone and scallop pie on the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, or experience Mures Upper Deck’s live Southern Bluefin tuna carving ceremony in Hobart. Along the east coast, Freycinet Marine Farm is reviving its cult winter scallop pie overlooking Great Oyster Bay.
Adding another layer of adventure are the Off Season’s behind-the-scenes experiences. Visitors can forage for gourmet fungi inside a converted railway tunnel at Tunnel Hill Mushrooms, join wine dogs Sasha and Biscuit on a vineyard tour at Caledon Estate, or sample rare barrel tastings at remote Furneaux Distillery on Flinders Island.
A winter worth travelling for
With more than 500 bookable events and experiences running throughout the Off Season, Tasmania is redefining winter as a time for indulgence, connection and discovery. Whether it’s sipping whisky beside a crackling fire, dining under star-filled skies or digging fresh truffles from frozen earth, the island is delivering experiences found nowhere else in Australia.